Merrianne Jessop is the youngest wife of Warren Jeffs, the notorious cult leader who is the subject of Peacock’s true-crime docuseries Preaching Evil: A Wife on the Run With Warren Jeffs. For a large part, the show was filmed from the perspective of Warren’s “favorite wife” Naomie, and his former wife Vicki Thompson.
The show has four parts and explores the “culture of sexual abuse” that Jeffs fostered at the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), a polygamy-centric sect of the Mormon Church created in 1930 and designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
According to the show, Merrianne was one of the two teenage girls se***** abused by Warren which got him in the eyes of the FBI. The other girl was Veda Keate.
So, keep scrolling because, here, you’ll learn about her age, her current status, and her role in the church.
Meet Merrianne Jessop, Warren Jeffs Youngest Wife
Merrianne Jessop is known as the youngest wife of Warren Jeffs, the president and prophet of FLDS in 2002. The authorities learned that Warren had taken two underage girls in a “celestial marriage” and one was Merriane Jessop. On the day of her marriage in July 2006, she was only 12 years old.
Merrianne is the sister of Naomie Fells Jessop, who was Warren’s wife and scribe.
On July 27th, 2006, she was escorted into the temple by her parents along with two of her brothers. She hadn’t yet reached menarche (her first period). There, she was sealed for ‘time and all eternity to Warren Jeffs. Jeff had married Merriaane’s 3 nieces, 11 sisters, along with an aunt.
Her spouse is said to have run his church like a dictator, separating families, prohibiting all outside socialization, and controlling a 44-room home. Short Creek, Utah, is on the boundary of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Arizona, where the religion was founded.
Along with Merrianne, all the other women were forced to wear conservative prairie dresses and were assigned to men at Warren’s leisure. Besides Naomie, Warren allegedly had other 79 wives all for himself. He often preached “For a man to become a god, he must have a plurality of wives”.
Warren had become a leader of the FLDS in 2002 after the death of his father Rulon T. Jeffs. Warren was named principal of the Alta Academy, a school for FLDS students when he was 18 years old. The high-profile role gave the youngster the opportunity to start exercising control over the submissive girls who would become his victims.
“Keep Sweet” was one of the messages Rulon and Warren shared with their youthful followers. It was loosely construed as a command to wear a smile on your face. But it offered a potentially ominous message for abuse victims: if they remained smiling, their attackers wouldn’t bother them.
His father had the phrase inscribed on the soles of his shoes. After his father’s death, he literally wore the shoes too. Almost 24 of his wives were the age of 12 or 13. Nearly 56 of Warren’s wives were sisters and 29 of his wives were also married to his father.
Warren was placed on the FBI’s most-wanted list in 2005 after forcing two adolescent girls into marriages with adult men. He was arrested in 2006, and in 2011, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s Louis C. Powledge Unit found him guilty of molesting two girls and sentenced him to life in prison.
There is little information regarding what happened to all of Warren Jeffs’ wives because the group is so secretive. Here’s what we know about his wives who have publicly expressed their displeasure with him.
Where Is Merrianne Jessop Today?
According to the show, Veda already had a child when the authorities invaded the property, and a DNA test revealed Warren was the father. Merrianne Jessop later told caseworkers that marrying Warren was not a crime, explaining that “Heavenly Father is the one that tells Warren when a girl is ready to get married… He is only following the word of Heavenly Father.”
When Merrianne was informed that it was a felony, she insisted that these unions were pure.
Authorities reportedly discovered a 14-minute audiotape of Warren sexually assaulting Merrianne and having a group sex session with a few minor females in the ranch’s temple vault. Warren had sexual intercourse with her on a ceremonial bed during the marriage ceremony while other wives watched, the youngster subsequently told officials.
During recordings, Merrianne’s mother asked if another child could be exchanged for Merrianne but the judge denied the request. They also found evidence that Merrianne herself might have become a mother at such a young age.
Warren was sentenced to life in prison in 2011 after being convicted of two charges of sexual assault of a minor in regard to Merrianne and Veda.
Authorities placed Merrianne in foster care for a while before her guardianship was granted to her cousin Naomi Johnson Carlisle.
Merrianne Jessop Age Now
Born on 3 July 1994, Merrianne Jessop is currently 27 years old as of 29 April 2022.
Merrianne Jessop Father
Merrianne Jessop was born to her father Merril Jessop. Merril had Merriane with his third (and favored) “wife” Barbara Jessop. At the time Merril had had six wives and numerous children. Their family would continue to grow with wives and children as time went on.
Merrianne’s father moved her and the rest of his family to Texas in 2003, when she was nine years old, on a big acreage owned by the church named Yearning For Zion Ranch. The purpose was so the new leader of the church, Warren Jeffs could train Merrianne on how to be a “heavenly comfort wife”.
Her two brothers (Leroy and Raymond) also received child brides-one fifteen year old each in July 2006.
The court charged Merril with “conducting a marriage ceremony prohibited by law”. Several reports revealed that Merrianne’s father performed the ceremony. He is now out of jail.
Related FAQs
-
Where Does Merrianne Jessop Reside?
By August 2009, it was reported that Merrianne had returned to the ranch in Texas. She joined the rest of Warren’s family at R23 (Pringle, South Dakota) after she turned eighteen.
-
Does Merrianne Jessop Appear On Peacock’s ‘Preaching Evil: A Wife on the Run With Warren Jeffs’?
No, Merrianne Jessop doesn’t appear on Peacock’s ‘Preaching Evil: A Wife on the Run With Warren Jeffs’.
1 Comment